Method of drying buttermilk



N. P. coLLIs.

METHOD 0F DRYING BUTTERNIILK.

APPLICATION FILED 01:1.-3, I9I9.

Patented 001.1111920.

3 SHEETS- SHEET l.

N. P. COLLIS.

METHOD 0F DRYING BUTTERMILK'.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 3, I9I9.

1,356,340, I Patented OCI. 19,1920.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

N. P. COLLIS.

METHOD 0F DRYING BUTTERMLK.

APPLlCATION FILED OCT. 3. |919.

Patented Oct. 19, 1920.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3 @mi i:

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

NORMAN P. COLLIS, F ST, PAUL, MINNESOTA, ASSIGNOR TO COLLIS PRODUCTS COMPANY, 0F CLINTON, IOWA, A CORPORATION OF WEST VIRGINIA.

specification of Lettersratent, :Pate'ntled Oct, 19, 192`0 Original application led'December 13, 1915, Serial No. 66,592. Divided and this application, tiled October i3, 1919. Serial No. 328,317. I

To all w hom z'z may concern: 5

Be it known .that I, NORMAN P. CoLLIs, a

citizen of the'United States, residing atSt.

Paul, in the county of Ramsey and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Methods of Drying Buttermilk, of which the following is a specification, the same being a division of United States application, Serial I No. 66,592, filed December 13, 1915.

This invention pertains to a method or process. of drying -buttermilk for the pury pose primarily of securing therefrom a pulverized or flaky product containing therein the food values of the buttermilk and adapted for use as one of the ingredients in a poultry or similar ration, or for use in the preparation of food products intended for human consumption.

The term buttermilk, as used the present specification, is intendedfto "define the Creamery by-product from which the butter fat has been mainly removed, and which consists of a soluble whey and an insoluble curd. The vprincipal peculiarity of such buttermilk, in yso far as it applies,to the process of the present invention, resides in the fact that, as compared with fresh milk, it has undergone a chemical change with an attendant physical change, so that the but- Atermilk no longer constitutes a homogeneous soluble substance like sweet milk, but, on the contrary, constitutes a mass in which the insoluble curds are held in compl-ete or partial suspension inthe liquid whey.

If this mass -be permitted to stand for any appreciable length of time, the curd parti- 4 cles will separate from the whey and pre` oipitate themselves at the bottom of'the mass; and the whey will partially clarify to the form of a thin liquid, so that in order to vconserve the food values which are pres` ent both in the curd and in the whey, is necessary to `bring the mass to the drying point in a thoroughly agitated condition-- that is, to a condition in which the curdswill be finely divided and' distributed evenly throughout the liquid whey in order that both may be simultaneously and evenly subjected to the drying process'. i

The process of the present 1nvent1on 1s thus designed to act uniformly upon a mlX- ture of two ingredients possessing diverse physical properties, without thereby destroying or impairing the food'values oonalso tends `to improve the physical proper@ ties of the bread.

The present buttermilk product contains all of the nutritive or food -values of skim milk with an additional butter fat and lactic acid. When added to the sponge it accelerates the function of yeast and assists in the fermentation, by softening the gluten and giving the yeast greater activity. This increases the expansion and shortens the time of fermentation, or gives a greater amount 4of fermentation during the same time. Lactic acid is also a l preventive for rope, a bread disease most'prevalent during the warmer months, or where low grade wheat flour or cereal flours are used.

The process of the present invention consists im the several steps hereinafter described and claimed.

In' the drawings Figure 1 Iis an end elevation of a machine or apparatus to carry out the process of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same; and

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic view concerning the principal portions of the apparatus involved in the process of the present invention.

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10 which is preferablyl located in the basement of the establishment, which tank, has, leading therefrom, a. pipe ll'connecting with a pump 12 which, in turn, discharges the buttermilk in agitated or finely divided co'ndition through a pipe 13 which leads up to one of the bearings.

The buttermilk discharged from the tank 14 is exhausted therefrom through a sub tank 19, from which leads a pipe 20 communicating with a pump 21driven by suitable sprocket chain connections with the engine 17, which pumpagain thoroughly agii tates the buttermilk and discharges it in a frothy oufoamy and finely divided condition throughs. pipe 22 which, in turn, communicates with a sprayer pipe 23 located in close parallel relation to the surface of the heating drum. This pipe is slotted or perforated on the side adjacent to thedrum for the purpose of discharging a thin sheet or film of the finely divided and agitated buttermilk onto the heated Vsurface of the drum which is constantly rotating in a clockwise direct-ion and at a slow speed, so that the film of buttermilk deposited on the surface of the drum will be quite thoroughly dried during a little less than one revolution', at which point it is scraped from the surface of the drum by the action of a knife or scraper 24 and deposited in a. trough 25, through which it is fed, and at the same time dried and broken up by the action of a revolving beater 26 being ultimately dischargedinto a second underlying trough 27 provided with a similar beater 28. If the discharge from the second tank into the buttermilk product is in a pratically dry or pulverized condition, it may be stored indefinitely and used as required.

The drawings disclose a complete selfcontained apparatus for performing the process of the present invention, suitable gearing and connections being provided for operating the pumps, drum and meters froma single source of power. but obviously these details may be changed or modified as occasion may require.

It is important in practising the process of the present invention that the agitation of `the mass be sufficiently violent to thoroughly break up the curds into a finely divided condition, so that'they ywill be held in complete suspension up to and at the time of deposition on the'heated surface of the' however, are not adapted for the treatment of buttermilk containing' soluble and insoluble food values, both of which must be conserved in the completed product.

I claim 'z 1. The herein described method of desiccating buttermilk of that nature which consists ina liquefied Whey containing insoluble curd particles in suspension, which process consists in subjecting a body of the buttermilk to thoroughly agitation to prevent precipitation of the curd lwithin the whey and to maintain the insoluble curd particles in yfinely divided condition 4and in suspension in 'the whey, then spraying the liquid resultant while in the thoroughly mixed condition secured by agitation, upon the heated surface of a heating medium to effect evaporation of the moisture and the deposit of both soluble and insoluble food values and then removing the mass from the heating medium,.substantially as described. 2. The herein described method of desiceating buttermilk of that nature which consists in a liquefied whey containing insoluble curd particles in suspension, which process consists in subjecting a body of th buttermilk to thorough agitation to prevent precipitation of the curd within the whey and to maintain the insoluble curd particles in finely divided condition and in suspension in the Whey, then spraying the NORMAN P. COLLIS. 

